Explain why the United States withdrew their forces from Vietnam in 1973.

Explain why the United States withdrew their forces from Vietnam in 1973 In order to answer the question; Explain why the United States withdrew their forces from Vietnam in 1973, I will need to cover the following points; how America became involved, the development of the war under Lyndon B Johnson, tactics of both sides, effect of war on people and the country, how America pulled out and how the war ended. Up until August 1945, the end of World War Two, Japan controlled Vietnam. Between 1945-54 Communist Guerrilla fighters led by the leader of Korea, Ho Chi Minh wanted and fought independence from France. France were defeated by them and left. In 1954 Vietnam was divided into two parts, the North which was Communist and the South who were led by President Diem. The country should have had an election but it was called off. Cambodia and Laos were independent and the Vietcong begin fighting the South. Between 1954-59 the Vietcong guerrilla's had moved into South Vietnam and by 1959 they controlled a third of the country. The USA was very much against Communism and were worried that Communism would take over the whole of the South East Asia region. Between 1950-53 USA had lost 142,000 soldiers by trying to stop a Communist take over of Korea. The biggest concern that USA had was the 'Domino Theory'. This meant that if one country turned Communist that others round it

  • Word count: 1658
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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How & why did the USA become involved in Vietnam?

How & why did the USA become involved in Vietnam? After W.W.II the USA was concerned about the spread of communism, and its effect on world economics and politics. This and the threat of invasion from the powerful USSR, who were trying to spread communism . The USA believed in the "domino theory" (once one country fell to communism the surrounding ones would follow It). Vietnam was part of French Indo-China where there was serious problems. The Vietminh were a communist group fighting for independence. The USA desperately wanted the French to keep control , If Vietnam became communist then according to the domino theory all the countries around it would too. The USA gave large amounts of money and aid to the French. Despite this the French were loosing and in the battle of Dien Bien Phu were finally defeated and pulled their troops out of Vietnam. As a result, the Geneva agreement was set up to try and keep order in Vietnam, the north would be ruled by communist Ho Chi Minh and the south by Ngo Dinh Diem. This was temporary, Ngo was meant to hold elections to unite Vietnam, but he never did and the Americans, scared that Ho would win, didn't force him to. His Tyrannical policies made him very unpopular and the communists in South Vietnam rebelled and formed a guerrilla group, the NLF(Vietcong) to overthrow him. The Americans pumped in more money, this time into the South

  • Word count: 565
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Vietnam. Source A is an extract from the book Four Hours In My Lai by Michael Bilton, published in 1992. This source tells us that there was a low standard of the American recruits going into Vietnam,

Assignment Model B: Vietnam Source A is an extract from the book "Four Hours In My Lai" by Michael Bilton, published in 1992. This source tells us that there was a low standard of the American recruits going into Vietnam, that there was a high death rate within the American troops as most were only out in the war for their twelve month Tour of Duty, then they were sent home. Therefore they were inexperienced in war, compared to the experienced Vietcong Guerrilla fighters on their own turf. I agree with this interpretation because some of it agrees with my knowledge of what happened in My Lai and the Vietnam War in general. For example, I know that troops were very young when they were sent to war (the average age was 19). I also know that there was a very high death rate, and that the troops lacked experience in Guerrilla warfare and war in general, which is what the source says. The source may have been based on the primary experiences of the author, if not then it was well researched and seemed to include detail that agrees with my knowledge. However I do not agree with this interpretation because the author may not have even been in the war- we don't know anything about him. I would assume that he wasn't one of the recruits mentioned though, as all he does is criticise them. Also the source was published in 1992, which was 36 years after the Massacre in My Lai actually

  • Word count: 520
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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What were the major problems facing US forces when fighting the war in Vietnam?

What were the major problems facing US forces when fighting the war in Vietnam? There were a number of problems facing US forces when fighting the war in Vietnam. Perhaps one of the biggest problems that they faced was the fact that the Vietcong were fighting using guerrilla tactics: fighting on a small scale, taking independent, irregular actions. The Vietcong depended on stealth, concealment, and surprise attacks and ambushes. Guerrilla warfare spread as Vietminh soldiers who were trained and armed in the North - the Vietcong, returned to their homes in the south to assassinate, ambush and sabotage. Unlike conventional wars in which the Americans may have fought, the war in Vietnam had no defined front lines. Much of the fighting consisted have hit and run attacks, with the guerrillas striking at government outposts and then retreating into the jungles. Most of the US soldiers were also caught out by booby traps set up by the Vietcong. These ranged from simple holes in the ground to metal spikes covered in poison or human excrement. Booby traps were thought to have accounted for 11 per cent of US deaths in Vietnam and 17 per cent of wounds. After 1965, US involvement in the war escalated rapidly in response to the growing strength of the Vietcong. By 1967, US troop strength in South Vietnam had risen to 389,000 men, but despite their sophisticated weapons, the Americans

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  • Word count: 1026
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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This statement suggests that television was an important reason why the United States lost the war in Vietnam. Is there sufficient evidence in sources D to L to support this interpretation? Use the sources and knowledge from your studies to explain your a

"The war on colour television screens in American living rooms has made Americans far more anti war than anything else. The full brutality of the combat will be there in close-up and in colour and blood looks very red on a colour television screen." (A statement made by a BBC commentator in 1970, to members of the British Armed Forces.) This statement suggests that television was an important reason why the United States lost the war in Vietnam. Is there sufficient evidence in sources D to L to support this interpretation? Use the sources and knowledge from your studies to explain your answer. In the late 1960's colour television became popular and part of most households and most American families had one. This coincided with the Vietnam war and as a result this war became famous for being the first televised war. As channels were very limited with there being only two or three channels, the Vietnam War was one of the only things available to watch on television. This made America more anti war than anything else as television being relatively new was uncensored so the Americans at home saw the Americans at war change tactics and start using more violent methods such as Napalm bombs- a type of flame thrower or fire bomb, and Agent Orange- a deadly chemical cocktail used as a defoliant to kill the rainforests and destroy the Vietcong's hiding places. Source D is a

  • Word count: 1798
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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USA's involvement in Vietnam War

C/W Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam in the 1950s and 1960s? There are several reasons why the USA became involved in Vietnam in the 1950s and 1960s. They were, there was a Cold war going on between USA and Russia, fear of communism was another motivation for USA to become involved, the assassination of President John F Kennedy was also a major factor, the assassination of JFK brought the arrival of a new President; Lyndon Johnson and finally North Vietnam attacked US warships this was one of the biggest factor. The reason for all the fighting and wars in Vietnam all because of the way the country was going to be run. It was just after WWII and Japan had control of Vietnam. But before this Vietnam had been part of Frances colonies and they wanted it back. So the French went into Vietnam with a plan to once again take what was once theirs. At the same time the Cold war between USA and Russia was going on. The democratically run America wanted all the countries to become democratically run while on the other hand Russia wanted all the countries to become communist. USA feared that communism was spreading across the world and they had to act now to stop it. This was called a "domino theory", if one country falls the countries around it will follow. As USA was an ally of France and they knew that if France regained control of Vietnam it would be run as a democracy

  • Word count: 773
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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How useful are the sources A to G for explaining why there was an anti-war movement in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s?

Vietnam Coursework How useful are the sources A to G for explaining why there was an anti-war movement in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s? The movement against the Vietnam War in 1960s America was one of the largest of its kind, in both national and international comparisons; the movement was heavily linked with other reform groups which were pressurising the American government during that time period. Due to this, opposition to the war came from a diverse number of groups who each had their own reasoning for their anti-militaristic stance - ranging from veteran's opposing based upon their experience or Civil Rights demonstrators who felt they were trying to uphold the rights of the Vietnamese people, whilst not necessarily having the same themselves, domestically. What facilitated the exacerbation of the anti-war movement was the greater access to uncensored information in the extensive television coverage from Vietnam; not forgetting that the right to freedom of speech was also capitalised on by those in education who sought to bolster the importance of student activism, and their pressure group status. Others viewed the conflict as a war against Vietnamese independence, or as intervention in a foreign civil war; others opposed it because they felt it lacked direction and appeared to be potentially unsuccessful - devastation for a nation that was,

  • Word count: 4158
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Why did the USA withdraw its troops from Vietnam in 1973

Why did the USA withdraw its troops from Vietnam in 1973? In 1973, after many years of war both military and political, the USA withdrew all half a million troops from the bases in South Vietnam. This was because of many reasons also political and military related. When the USA sent the first troops over and the war began, they were confident that they would be able to win the war in a matter of a few months as they knew they had much better equipment, better training, aerial backing etc. The Communist North Vietnamese had only basic weaponry, no other equipment, little supplies and many had no training whatsoever. One of the key reasons therefore that they were able to stand a chance of victory was that they knew how to win what is commonly referred to as, 'The Battle for Hearts and Minds.' Out of the 17 million strong population of South Vietnam, 85-90% were peasant farmers and cared nothing for the view of the USA on prevention of communism. The North Vietnamese knew what this and were able to give the people what they wanted, just to be left alone. They used this to gain support. President Johnson's advisors also realised that they needed to win this support but the decisions were being made by the military at this point. The military were using tactics of Search and Destroy and also they started the largest bombing campaign ever in history. This obviously did not bode

  • Word count: 1239
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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From the beginning of the war the NFL realised that in order to win they must win "the hearts and minds" of the peasants.

From the beginning of the war the NFL realised that in order to win they must win "the hearts and minds" of the peasants. This way they could be provided with shelter, food and such like, also they would be able to enlist more fighters for their cause and above all else the peasants would see that communism was the way their country should be heading. To do this they operated by a special code when dealing with the peasants: "(1) Not to do what is likely to damage the land and crops or spoil the houses and belongings of people; (2) Not to insist on buying or borrowing land that people are not willing to sell or lend; (3) Never break our word; (4) Not to do or speak what is likely to make people believe that we hold them in contempt; (5) To help them with their daily work. These rules ensured that the peasants would support the NFL and help them at any opportunity. As well as these gestures of kindness towards the peasants they would also educate them as to why they were so poor and, of course explain how much better communism would be to them. The Americans on the other hand although realising to some extent that the war was only going to be won with the support of the peasants were far less active in their approach to helping, and indoctrinating them. On the news and publicly they were seen to be helping them but the soldiers were far less willing and the peasants were

  • Word count: 2084
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Why did the USA become involvedin Vietnam in the 1950s and 1960s?

Question 1: Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam in the 1950s and 1960s? Before the Second World War, Indo-China was occupied by the French, however, during the war; South-East Asia was under Japanese control. In 1945, the French decided that they wanted Indo-China back. The Vietminh (a Vietnamese communist group) decided they would rather have independence, so they tried to drive out the French. In 1954, the Vietminh surrounded and wiped out the French army at Dien Bien Phu. The French realised that they needed help, and over the next two decades, America was dragged into a costly and disastrous war in Vietnam. The first reason that the USA got involved in Vietnam was because of the USA's fear of communism. After the Second World War, there was an emergence of two superpower countries, America and Russia. America was a capitalist country, and Russia was communist. America hated the idea of communism because they knew that it would change their whole way of life if the USA became a communist country. The citizens of America, especially the rich, did not want communism at all. Henceforth, America and the Soviet Union went to war. However, the two countries did not physically fight each other, because they new they were equally powerful, and therefore undefeatable. Instead they started the 'Cold War'. It was more of a competition between the two countries, Russia was

  • Word count: 2007
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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